|
How Do You Know?
| Released |
28 January 2011 |
| Director |
James L. Brooks |
Starring
|
Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Reece Witherspoon, Jack Nicholson |
| Writer(s) |
James L. Brooks |
Producer(s)
|
Julie Ansell, James L. Brooks, Laurence Mark, Paula Weinstein |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
120 minutes |
| Genre |
Comedy, romance |
| Rating |
12A |
|
|
Way left of field.
I had often wondered whether, like on a majority of albums these days, there was such a thing as a 'filler movie' in an actor's career? You know the type- the colourful easy-going film that offers a seven figure paycheck to its big league cast whilst simultaneously giving them the opportunity to expend as little acting energy as possible in a fun-filled fest. I had evidence before of course-Meet the Parents (a chance for De Niro to rest on his laurels), The Holiday (winsome Winslet at her most asinine) and The Women (a chance for Annette Bening to put her feet up-so to speak). Yet I never thought Reese would fall for it. The easy moneymaker. She always seemed so brimful of heart and Southern dignity that the idea of signing up for a piece of idiotic fluff would be a million miles away from her intended trajectory. Yet here she is: top billing in a rom-com that fails to up any kind of ante. Perhaps it was the pedigree of director James L. Brooks that got her? Famed for his Oscar nominated films As Good As It Gets and Terms of Endearment, Brooks has had carte blanche in Hollywood for the past twenty years-now finally, I feel, he has some explaining to do.
How Do You Know? follows the story of Lisa (Witherspoon), who after a lifetime of playing sport finds herself re-evaluating her life after being cut from the USA Softball team. A fling with narcissistic sportstar Matty (Owen Wilson) plunges her further into confusion and on this, the worst evening of her life, she meets George (Paul Rudd)-a straight laced businessman who has found himself on the wrong side of the law after some double-dealing done by his dad (Jack Nicholson).
Not exactly the most promising of premises but I was eager to see what a talented ensemble cast would make of it. Not much it seems...While Rudd has created somewhat of a niche for himself playing the sensitive endearing leading man-and he plays this part very well-I would dearly love to see him test the acting waters a little and portray some kind of sociopath a la Elijah Wood in Sin City or maybe even some sort of loveable cad like Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones. Baby steps...Wilson is as he always is-funny, quirky and seemingly high while Nicholson is suitably convincing as a devious double-crosser with heart. It is Witherspoon as super-jock Lisa that disappoints. The countless paparrazzi photographs splashed across magazines of her playing baseball in the months before filming began on How Do You Know? attest to her commitment to the role, yet the minute amount of footage of her actually playing ball onscreen make you wonder was it even really worth it? Surely she can use her formidable acting chops to fake the necessary running from first base to second? Her innate sweetness-that harks back to the halcyon days of Doris Day and the very thing that usually makes Witherspoon so watchable-is noticebly subdued here, overlaid by a bogus confidence that supposedly comes from 'winning' her entire life. Finally at 116 minutes, the film is just far too long to sustain such a weak screenplay....
-
Louisa McElwee |
